A rich socialite held a party in her mansion and invited a number of her close friends to come and celebrate her birthday. But earlier in the day, the hostess became ill and could not come down to the party. So she wasn’t able to introduce any of the guests to each other as none of the guests knew one another. When each guest arrived they were informed that the hostess was sorry that she could not be there, but asked that they introduce themselves to each other and enjoy the evening. So there they were, a roomful of people, all dressed up, smiling, holding a drink and gathered in one room.

But each of them in their own minds decided that someone else should come and introduce themselves to them first. Each person was waiting for someone else to start a conversation.

But as the minutes passed, no one went up to another person. Even though each of the guests was a dear friend with the hostess, none of them acknowledged it. The guests walked around the house, admired the art and antiques and tasted the wonderful food, but the house was starting to be uncomfortably quiet and after awhile the guests started disappearing one by one until after a short while the house was empty.

The butler informed the hostess that all her guests had left the party early and the house was empty. The hostess asked if it looked like the guests had a good time and made some acquaintances. But the butler replied that no, it appeared that no one spoke to anyone else at the party.

The hostess in her bed said, “Well, that is a shame.”

It seems each of these persons had complained to her privately that they didn’t have any friends and were hoping to meet some new people at her party. The opportunity was there, but no one would step up and start a conversation with anyone else.